James L. Brooks

Born on May 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, NY, Brooks was singularly raised in North Bergen, NJ by his mother, Dorothy, a saleswoman of children's clothes, after his father, Edward, a furniture salesman, left after being told his wife was pregnant. He returned when Brooks was a year old, only to leave and come back on several occasions throughout the years. When Brooks was 12 years old, his sister, Diane, was married, after which the family never heard from their father again. Brooks managed to survive his rough childhood - one plagued by financial insecurity, as well the paternal absence - by reading and writing comedic stories, some of which he submitted to be published, only to be gently let down b... Continue Bio >>